Homeland: About a Boy

October 27, 2014 9:52 PM - Season 4, Episode 5

In which Fara and Quinn stake out someone new, Saul spots someone he knows, a husband is wrangled, and Carrie is, well...
posted by vibratory manner of working (5 comments total)

I'm not really happy about Carrie sleeping with Ayaan but it's not exactly out of character. The most upsetting part of the episode was what happened to Saul. It almost felt like he missed being in the field and wanted to get back in the game but was sloppy. He's done some crappy things but still, I feel like he's one of the more decent people on the show and I hope he turns out okay. I read comments on the episode on another website and someone pointed out that Saul has always more or less kept Carrie in check but in his absence, who knows what she'll do next.
posted by kat518 at 8:36 PM on October 28, 2014

I thought this was a pretty good episode. Carrie's approach seems to be working on Aayan, but I appreciated Quinn calling her out.

I guess no one else is interested in this show anymore, oh well.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 8:38 PM on October 28, 2014

Watched the show and Saul being captured was tough. Fara was so close, ugh.
Yeah, I don't like how Carrie uses Aayan, at all. And that she prioritizes his recruitment above all else, this is where Quinn's frustration came from. Although there were scenes in each episode so far where Quinn gets all fuzzy feely when the subject of Carrie comes up in conversation, I hope it's not leading up to the great Quinn-Carrie love story.
posted by travelwithcats at 5:50 AM on October 29, 2014

I felt the last two seasons were too unrealistic, relied too much on Deus Ex Machina (although I did appreciate the hook of Carrie being disavowed); but this one's getting back on track. Yes Carrie's seduction of Ayal is deplorable & manipulative; welcome to the world of the CIA operative. Lie, cheat, steal, whatever it takes to accomplish the mission. It's not pretty & it creates as many problems as it tries to solve but that's how it's done.
posted by scalefree at 9:59 AM on October 29, 2014

I'm loving this season but this episode left me cold. Saul getting caught felt totally out of character, a complete plot device to get someone's skin in the game. Also made me wonder whether it is likely in the real world for an obviously Jewish guy, a former head of US intelligence, to be wandering around Pakistan alone.

The scenes with Carrie / Aayan were suitably cringe inducing and I liked how she started to put herself, her vulnerability, into it a bit. But it felt very static, like a bottle episode, a bit of marking time. By contrast Quinn and Fara's story is way more interesting. Rupert Friend playing Quinn has really stepped up this season, he's brought a lot to the show.

The thing I find fascinating is ISI being the bad guys. Pakistan is still nominally the US' ally in the real world, and while problems with ISI have been frequently reported it's still a bit astonishing to see them unambiguously labelled bad guys.
posted by Nelson at 7:19 PM on October 29, 2014